Have been rejected by a CELTA course - and I have been teaching for 8 years. HELP!

I would encourage any advice please on this dilemma.
I have been a teacher of Media, Journalism and Creative Writing for 8 years at three Australia universities.
I have a Masters and a Teaching Diploma.
I have also worked as a writer for 30 years, on a variety of publications.

I have, however, just been refused entry for a CELTA course in Bangkok due to my lack of understanding of verb tenses regarding issues like Present Perfect Progressive and Dangling Participles. I had two attempts at it and failed both times. It literally was like Russian to me - it made no sense whatsoever.

So, I would encourage some kind feedback please:
* Am I wasting my time and CELTA is far more difficult than most people assume?
* Do I need to find another school with a far less intense approach to entry? Evidently, I passed the other 18 sections of the application, not just the two Grammar sections - and they are what count.

Any feedback, would be great. And please, no trolling. I posted on another site and all I got back was abuse, and watched as posters shredded into each other for the hell of it. Not after that please, just some genuine words of advice would be great.

Thanks!

OMG, YOUR MESSAGE REALLY DID SHOCK ME!
I have an interview in the British Council by the end of Sep.
I did not prepare anything except filling the application.

30 years !!!!!!!

After I read your post last night, I panicked and expected the CELTA's candidates should be above average. I called the BC today then they said if you are speaking and writing well you can join the course easily.
My experience in teaching is less than year. If I am in your boat, I'll just travel to another country and take the CELTA without being offended or fooled of. A person with your long years of experience would definitely pass the CELTA. Please, note that there is no exam or test just 8 hours of practical training.

itsjohn said:

I had two attempts at it and failed both times. It literally was like Russian to me - it made no sense whatsoever.

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The things you are talking about are fairly basic. The CELTA course is not demanding in terms of who gets on, so sorting out these basics is all that is necessary. There shouldn't be any great difference from centre to centre, as they're all supposed to deliver the same course.If you get what a basic grammar says about these verb forms, you'll be fine.

AN UPDATE _

Thanks for taking time to reply. I really appreciate the insight.

I know what you mean that these things are basic - but they really meant nothing to me and I could not understand them. I have not heard the term 'dangling participle' since I was 13 years old.

I wrote back to the Centre and asked - politely - if I could get some more feedback as I was concerned I had made such a mess of the exam.

Here is their reply:

" If you really do feel put off, then I would not proceed as the nature of the course means there are going to be some bumps along the road for all the trainees."

If I wrote an email like that to any of my students at uni, I would be hauled over the coals by my supervisors for being so dismissive. I am guessing this is not the place for me.

Any suggestions???

Their reply does sound a bit pompous to me given what you asked for. Have you looked at other centres in Australia?

The centre I am applying to is in Asia in a major city. It was to be done as a 4 week intensive.
I thought the experience would do me good. Hmmm ...
Maybe I am better doing it from here and checking out some local centres offering it.

These days, so many people want to get a CELTA qualification that some centres can afford to be choosy. If you were up against a load of candidates who already understood basic grammar, then it's understandable that they might be given a place on the course (unfortunately, at your expense). I found their response to you rather dismissive too but again, they probably have to send out hundreds of letters to candidates who have not been offered a place. I doubt they have the time or the resources to give individual feedback to those candidates.

If I were you, I would spend a couple of months studying English grammar in as much depth as you possibly can and then perhaps apply to a different centre. I know a couple of people who have done the 4-week intensive and they both said that it was pretty tough and that they were glad they hadn't started the course with no grammatical knowledge at all.

At least you heard the phrase "dangling participle" at the age of 13. Plenty of (younger) people have never heard it at all.

I've studied English for four years and never heard of "dangling participle"! I also taught English for one year and most of the books don't have titles for the grammatical rules.
Hope all is well at your end.

Which books? Dangling participle is a common enough phrase- I've seen it used in a number of books.